THE SCOURGE OF TUBERCULOSIS. 
281 
SUPERRENAL CAPSUEES DURING FcETAL UlFE [By MM. 
LangloiS' and Rehns ],—When the functions of these organs 
were entirely unknown, some observers, noticing their relative 
size in the foetuses and new-borns, assigned to these organs a 
special part during the first periods of development. Recent 
researches have confirmed the experiments of Brown-Sequard 
and shown that they exercise an important part, essential even 
during life. However, there is reason to ask if the functions 
attributed to-day to those glands existed previous to birth. In¬ 
deed, it is known that some glands, like those annexed to the 
digestive canal, do not enter into function until after birth or 
at least have their own activity only from that moment. The 
authors could not, to solve the question, remove the superrenal 
capsules during intra-uterine life and observe the effects on the 
vitality of theTcetus 5 they had to be satisfied to determine if 
these foetal organs contain the vaso-tonic principle so character¬ 
istic of the adult capsulse. They experimented on foetuses 
of guinea-pigs, rabbits, lambs, and finally on a few human 
foetuses. But their researches were more specially made on 
lambs, which are easier to get in good condition. The experi¬ 
ments made with capsules of foetuses of rabbits and guinea- 
pigs, having given identical results, the authors conclude that 
at the end of the first half of gestation (60 days for the foetus 
of lambs, which is carried 140 days ; 30 days for that of guinea- 
pigs, which carries 65 days) the superrenal capsules contain 
and. therefore must pour in the blood the characteristic vaso¬ 
tonic substance.— (Soe. of Biol.) 
THE SCOURGE OF TUBERCULOSIS. 
MOVEMENT TOWARD EXTIRPATING THE DISEASE IN CATTLE 
GROWING—THE PUBLIC JUST AWAKENING TO THE GREAT 
DANGER INVOLVED—THE LAWS GOVERNING IT IN THE 
VARIOUS STATES OF THE UNION. 
Chicago, III., June 18. —To ascertain in detail what steps 
have .been taken in the United States toward extirpating tuber¬ 
culosis in cattle—the medium, according to physicians, through 
which the malady is most readily invading the human race"— 
the Tribune prints a report from -nearly every state and terri¬ 
tory in the union. 
The most salient fact presented by the report is that the 
scourge is rife in many states because of a lack of stringent 
